New Hawaii Bill Criminalizes Gun-Toting Cops Getting Drunk On Duty

With the Hawaii state Legislature’s 2014 session officially off and running, I thought it might be a good idea to glance over some of the proposed laws now churning through our great legal sausage-making machinery. And in no time at all, I found something fascinating.

The bill–numbered SB2590–is titled “A bill for an act relating to firearms” and comes to us courtesy of Democratic Senators Will Espero, Brickwood Galuteria and our own Roz Baker. The bill text, though 12 pages in length, pretty much gets to the point in the first paragraphs.

“The legislature finds that the consumption of alcohol or certain prescription medications can impair the judgment and physical response of a law enforcement officer,” states the bill. “The purpose of this Act is to prohibit state and county law enforcement officers from consuming alcohol or prescription medications that can mentally or physically impair their judgment while carrying a firearm.”